Podcast 36: My Copying

My 36th podcast is, for a change, not about the Art Club.

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Show Notes:

I've been working my way through Lawrence Lessig's book, Free Culture. It's a good read, even though it was written by a lawyer.

After the book plug, I spend the rest of the podcast talking about my views and experiences with copying throughout my life. A lot of the skill I've acquired as an artist is due to the fact that I've copied a lot of the artists that came before me. That's one of the reasons why Creative Commons licenses are so cool. Without giving up what we own, we let future generations learn by copying what we've done and building on it.

[EDIT: There seems to have been a problem with Ourmedia.org posting the audio file. I think it's fixed now, though.]

Podcast 35: Art Club's First Meetings

My 35th podcast is a two-for-one deal - I recorded half of it yesterday, and the other half today.

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Show Notes:

Today's posting is all about the Art Club, what we did and my responses to it.

I got some of the kids to start using Blog Meister while the rest of them worked on some altered books. I haven't taken pictures yet, but I will.

Podcast 34: Lifelong Learning

This is not my 34th podcast, it's my 6th attempt at my 29th podcast.

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Show Notes:

On 9/14/05, Will Richardson Wrote:

I was talking with a math teacher who is a part of our pilot, and he told me that in the course of his lesson on Monday he used a term that was unfamiliar to his students. Rather than simply give them a definition, he modeled his own practice by having his students watch as he went from the OneNote page he was projecting via his tablet, opened up a browser, surfed over to Wikipedia, looked up the definition, and started a discussion about not only the math but about the workings of the site. Now I would bet that only a handful of teachers would model that same process.

Mr. Richardson was excited about this story, and I agree it was totally awesome when I read about it myself. It's a total shame that today's teachers often focus on passing on the information more than passing on the methods used to obtain that information. I don't think this is any individual's fault, but rather it's residual inertia left over from an era where one could succeed in the "real world" without being a lifelong learner.

This is a new millennium, and we must begin to teach in a way that will help our students also be their own teachers.

Podcast Alley: Education Podcasts - C'mon, you know you want to vote for me ... right?

Podcast 33: Art Club and 1KBWC

My 33rd podcast's audio is messed up, but I don't know how to fix it. It isn't normally full of pops like this, honest!

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Show Notes:

• Happy Talk like A Pirate Day!
• Art Club starts in a week. 30 kids is a big number when you have less than 10 cameras and less than 5 computers. Lucky for me, I can use stations.
• 1000 Blank White Cards is a great game that helps encourage creativity.

Red Cross Posters

Every now and then (Ok, more often than that...) I feel the need to show off what my students can do. Recently I did a lesson with my 5th graders at Gaywood Elementary that involved making posters for the Red Cross. I uploaded several of them to my Flickr account, and thought I would dedicate a blog entry to them as well. Enjoy!

Oh, and don't forget to donate to the Red Cross. The outpouring of funds has been wonderful, but they're not done down there yet.

Quotes about teachers

Our best teachers do more than impart facts and figures - they inspire and encourage students and instill a true desire to learn. That's a fine art in itself.

-Sonny Perdue

There are many teachers who could ruin you. Before you know it you could be a pale copy of this teacher or that teacher. You have to evolve on your own.

-Berenice Abbott

Teachers believe they have a gift for giving; it drives them with the same irrepressible drive that drives others to create a work of art or a market or a building.

-A. Bartlett Giamatti

The sincere teachers of their youth should be met, not with an intention to dictate to them, but to give additional force to their well-meant endeavours, and raise them to public esteem.

-Joseph Lancaster

Teachers of design should help a student to find their own voice. In other words, not be a templated version of the teacher, but rather to help them [the students] unfold what they already know and can bring to the table.

-April Greiman

I have learnt silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet strange, I am ungrateful to these teachers.

-Kahlil Gibran

You can get more quotes from BrainyQuote.com

Podcast 32: Books, Clubs, and Conferences

32 is just like 42, except there's not as much of it.

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Show Notes:

1. The local Labor Day Festival's PTA book fair left me with a ton of hardcovers. Why? Can you say Altered Books? Mwa-haha!
2. Art Club notices have gone out, we're starting the last week of September.
3. Looks like I'll be presenting at a tech conference. I'm looking forward to it.
4. I'd like a new theme song. Anyone have a good one I may use?

Podcast Alley: Education Podcasts - C'mon, you know you want to vote for me ... right?

Technology Conference!

9th Annual Powering Up With Technology Conference

Moving on Up: Using Technology to Impact Student Achievement

When:

Saturday November 12, 2005

7:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Where:

Northwestern High School
7000 Adelphi Road
Adelphi, Maryland 20782

Highlights

*8 hands-on computer labs
*Model lessons on integrating technology into the curriculum
*Vendor booths and presentations
*Innovative instructional ideas
*Door prizes including a COMPUTER
*Yours truly (The Art Guy) doing a presentation on Creative Commons Multimedia

For additional information:
Call the Department of Instructional Technology at 301-925-2874, or visit the web site at www.pgcps.org/~support and then click on the conference link.

Registration:
Preregistration is $40 (in the form of a check or money order, no cash, please) which includes a continental breakfast, box lunch, and conference materials. Onsite registration is $45. Mail registration form below with fee to Christopher Fuller at the Department of Instructional Technology, 8437 Landover Road, Landover, MD 20785 by October 28, 2005. Checks should be made payable to the Prince George’s County Public Schools.